


Stuck In The Middle With You

by CaporalAwesome



Category: Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Fix-It, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 21:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6582376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaporalAwesome/pseuds/CaporalAwesome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the eve of the diamond heist, Freddy chickens out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I got the feeling that something ain't right

The sun had set a few hours ago already, and Mr. White's apartment is quiet, except from the sounds of feet restlessly hitting the floor. Tomorrow is the big day, the heist they've been carefully and secretively planning for weeks.

Freddy can't stop pacing. It all started out so well and it was all set out to be just another job. From the moment he put Joe Cabot in his pocket at the bar with his rehearsed story, everything had gone just as planned. Freddy would continue to feed info to his colleagues and at the end of the day, seven criminals would be put away, likely for good. Joe, Nice Guy Eddie and the other guys didn't suspect a thing. Not even Mr. White. Mr. White, who's reclining on the bed and looking at Freddy now, concern apparent on his face.

“Hey, kid, calm down.” White says. “You're gonna wear a hole through my floor.” He sounds a little annoyed, but Freddy knows he's worried about him. God, he's known White for a couple of days and it feels like they've spent a decade together for how well he knows him now.

They shared a first kiss in the men's room at the bar, that first night. Freddy went with it partly because he was supposed to gain these guys' trust, become part of the gang, and besides, White wasn't half-bad looking. He was all strong hands and bright eyes, and Freddy didn't see the harm in mixing business and pleasure. 

What Freddy hadn't expected is how easy it was to be together, how well they seemed to click after that first meeting, like two puzzle pieces interlocking. White had treated him like a prince and Freddy felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Guilt makes a weight in Freddy's stomach. When he went undercover, he assumed it was going to be just another job. He hadn't planned on, or even suspected that he'd fall in love with a hardened criminal he knew almost nothing about.

“Just... just nervous about tomorrow. That's all.” Freddy says. It's not entirely untrue. He's apprehensive about the job, sure. There's so many things that could go wrong, he could get hurt, someone could find out he's a rat before the job is over... But to Freddy's surprise, all of this seems like a minor inconvenience compared to knowing he's never going to see White again like this.

“Hey... come here.” White says, patting the space beside him in bed. Freddy hurries to his side like a starved man and tucks himself under White's arm, resting his head on his lover's wide chest like he's done so many times in the recent days. This time is different. There's no post-coital bliss, only anxiety devouring Freddy from the inside. He can imagine it, White getting shoved into the back of a police cruiser, the hurt on his face as he sees Freddy getting a pat on the back from Holdaway, Freddy reaping all the glory and White back inside to rot for the rest of his days.

This was the plan and it was going well. It was everything Freddy ever dreamed of. The highlight of his career. That was before he met Mr. White. Now all Freddy wants is to run away with a criminal.

Freddy considers it, abandoning his entire career, everything he's ever worked for and jumping into White's arms. He can picture it. Making off with everyone else's share of the diamond profit. Driving off into the sunset. Buying a little house somewhere in New Mexico and not letting go of each other for the rest of their lives. Freddy can picture it, and it looks better than his current life where he lives alone in a single bedroom apartment.

It all seems dreamy, but there's one huge flaw in his little reverie. What will White say when he finds out that Mr. Orange, the man who shared his meals and his bed for the past weeks, who he opened to emotionally for the first time in decades, is actually a rat? Freddy can't bear to think about it.

And yet, wouldn't it be better if Freddy told White himself instead of having him put two and two together as he's sitting in a cop car?

They've been sitting in silence for a while now. Freddy's still tense, but White has started running his fingers through his hair, his other hand a comforting weight on Freddy's back.

“White?” Freddy says, his voice barely above a whisper but almost deafening in the quiet of the room.

“Yeah, baby?” White says, warmly, and Freddy draws in a shuddering breath.

“I'm a cop.”

There's few drawn out, heavy seconds, then Freddy feels White tense up against him. Freddy cringes, waiting for the blows or the screaming to start. White's hand shoving him away hurts more than any punch.

“Get out.”

“Please, White-” Freddy tries, but the look of hurt on White's face makes him feel like throwing up.

“You lied to me! Just get out!” White barks as he gets up from the bed, away from Freddy. The kid looks ready to run out of the apartment tail between his legs. But he stays where he was pushed, at the edge of the bed. He's already blown his cover on purpose. At this point, Freddy feels like he has nothing to lose.

“At least let me explain! Please?” Freddy pleas, knowing White could never resist him when he begged. White looks at him, anger and hurt heavy in his eyes. Freddy's seen him annoyed and disappointed before, but never like this. Still, he kneels on the bed, faces White, and gathers himself.

“Okay, yes, I'm a cop, I was supposed to get in the heist and have you all caught.” Freddy's voice shakes, but he pushes on. “But that was before I met you, okay? That was before-”

“All we had together,” White interrupts him, “All of that, was that just you staying undercover, huh?”

“No!” Freddy shouts indignantly. “You think I'd sleep with anyone just to keep my cover? I'd have pushed you away that first night! You were handsome and I was interested, and then-” Freddy pauses. Looks up at White. He doesn't look as angry now, more confused.

“I lied to you about my job, but never, ever about how I felt about you.” Freddy feels small under White's gaze, but the weight of anxiety and guilt is gone. White sighs.

“What makes you think I can believe you?” he asks, and it's like a punch in Freddy's gut.

“Because it's true! Why do you think I'm telling you this now? You think I want you to go to prison and never see you again?” Freddy asks. He inches closer to White who's still standing next to the bed. Like this, White is taller than him. Freddy has to look up, but White is calmer now. He still can fix this.

“So you're just gonna lose your job over this? If the other guys find out, they're gonna kill you!” White says, looking almost concerned for him. Freddy lets out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. At least White doesn't completely hate him. 

“I don't care”, Freddy says desperately. “I want to be with you. Please. Believe me.”

White sighs in resignation and rubs at his face, then lets his arms fall open at his sides.

“C'mere, kid...” White whispers. Freddy all but throws himself at White, burying his face in White's soft, worn-in t-shirt and wrapping his arms around his middle. White's arms encircle him, familiar.

“Thank you, White, thank you, thank you...” he repeats like a mantra. White just laughs.

“It's Larry.”

“Huh?” Freddy looks up, and Larry smiles.

“That's my name, kid.”

“Oh. I'm Freddy,” he says, and can't help smiling back. Larry kisses the side of his face, then his mouth. Freddy clings to him like a lifeline, his heart still thumping in his chest. They both pull back, reluctantly, and look at each other. 

“What about tomorrow?” Freddy almost hates himself for asking, but the question is urgent. Joe would definitely notice if the two of them were missing.

“I don't know, baby”, Larry says, and kisses him again. Freddy reciprocates eagerly. 

“We'll figure something out, you and I.”


	2. It's so hard to keep this smile from my face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue.

Freddy adjusts his shades, and reaches for the radio. He turns the knob and the sounds of Robert Palmer's crooning fills the car. Freddy's hand drops from the dashboard and finds Larry's thigh. Larry's eyes stay glued to the road, but Freddy can see a smile spread across his face.

The duffel bag is heavy on Freddy's lap, but he unzips it with his free hand. Inside, the fat stacks of bills shift and Freddy smiles. He and Larry knew where the cops would be waiting, thanks to Freddy, and ditched the rest of their little gang to go straight to the diamond buyer. Larry sweet-talked him into trusting the money to him, that Joe was aware, that there had been last-minutes changes of plans and that he'd get everyone's share to their rightful owners.

They didn't, obviously. They bought a used car in cash, slapping on an extra couple hundreds so that the salesman would keep his trap shut about selling them the car if the cops (or a friend of Joe Cabot) came asking questions.

The car barreled down the highway. Freddy was holding his breath, expecting to hear police sirens at any moment, but there were none.

“We did it, Larry,” Freddy said, squeezing Larry thigh lightly. “We fucking did it.”

“We sure did, baby,” Larry laughed. “Where to now?”

The sun was setting over the horizon, and L.A. was already far in the rear-view mirror. They kept passing exits and road signs without slowing down. They had nothing to their names but dirty clothes, an old car and a bag full of cash. Freddy's future had never been more uncertain.

It's the best he's ever felt in his life.

“Anywhere we want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The song playing is The Tender Trap)
> 
> Fight me, Tarantino. I'm letting these boys have a happy ending.


End file.
